Etymologically
Log in

receptus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word receptus

receptus1 retreat

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (capiō)
Etymology tree of receptus1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin capio
Latin accipio
Latin acceptrix
Latin accepto
English accept
French accepter
Latin acceptor
Latin capax
Latin occipio
Latin suscipio
Latin decipio
Latin praecipio
Latin recipio
French recevoir
Latin recepto
Latin receptaculum
Latin receptus
Latin incipio
Latin capulus
Latin nuncupo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛˈkɛp.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈt͡ʃɛp.tus][1]

Forms

receptus m (genitive receptūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun is from Latin recipiō (“to take back, receive”) + -tus.[2][3] The verb is formed with re- on capiō (“to take”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kap-i- (“to seize”), either from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂p-i- or from a non-Indo-European ⟨*kap-⟩; he compares Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”) and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍆𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hafjan, “to lift”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero, and the TLL finds it in prose from Cicero and his correspondents, Caesar, Sallust and Livy.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

It is first the act of getting back, recovery, and above all withdrawal, retreat: Caesar says the retreat was hampered by the crowd of men, and receptuī canere is to sound the retreat, as when Caesar ordered the signal.[2] Pompey writes of not losing his line of retreat.[2] It is also a place of refuge, as Virgil's safe retreat, and a recess.[2] Quintilian speaks of breath that is hard to draw back, and Lewis and Short give the figurative sense “retraction” of an opinion.[6]

In Medieval Latin it was the lodging a lord could demand from a vassal, and the right to use a castle in time of war.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero.[5][3]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of a retreat and its signal.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of a refuge.[2][5]
  • Medieval Latin – compulsory lodging; the right to use a castle.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Getting back, recovery; a drawing back.[2][6][1]
  2. Withdrawal, retreat; a means of retreat;[2][6][1] receptuī canere, to sound the retreat.[2][6][1]
  3. A place of shelter, refuge; a recess.[2][1]
  4. A retraction, recantation.[6][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Compulsory lodging owed to a lord; the right to use a castle in war.[7]

receptus2 received, customary

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 160–220 AD, Tertullian
Ultimate origin
Latin (capiō)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛˈkɛp.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [reˈt͡ʃɛp.tus][1]

Forms

receptus (feminine recepta, neuter receptum); first/second-declension participle[1]

Etymology

The adjective is the perfect passive participle of recipiō (“to take back, receive”).[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a participle it has the senses of the verb, “taken back, recovered; received”.[1] Lewis and Short find the adjective “received, current” only after the classical period, in Tertullian's comparative receptior.[6]

Semantic evolution

Solinus has the superlative receptissimī of the most accepted writers.[6] The neuter receptum was used as a noun by Cicero for an engagement or guarantee one has undertaken.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of receptum, an undertaking.[6][5]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian of an accepted authority.[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Taken back, recovered; received.[1]
  2. (post-classical) Received, current, customary, accepted.[6]
  3. (neuter as noun) receptum, an undertaking, guarantee.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Receptus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/receptus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·